Friday, May 15, 2009

baked cabbage rolls

i'm a long time cabbage fan - in fact one of the first recipes i posted on this blog was a cabbage salad of sorts. i came up with this recipe after we received a head of cabbage from door to door organics and i wanted something warm, filling and fairly healthy. my first instinct was to stuff them with rice, but we didn't have any. luckily i found some yellow split peas laying around, and they made the perfect substitute.

12 cabbage leaves

1/2 pack of tofu, crumbled

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon low sodium soy

pinch salt and pepper

1/2 cup veggie broth

5 button mushrooms, sliced

1 whole carrot, peeled and sliced

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 cup cooked yellow split peas

1/2 tablespoon adobe seasoning

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)

1 small can tomato sauce (80z)

there are a number of ways to get your cabbage leaves. my method involves de-coring the cabbage, and placing the whole head in a steamer for about 10-15 minutes. after it cools a minute, then i peel off the leaves and they are pliable enough for wraps. you could also peel the leaves off without steaming, but i find that they rip less when slightly cooked.

heat the sesame oil in a large skillet on high. dump in the crumbled tofu and fry for about 7-8 minutes until it starts to brown on all sides. turn your heat down a notch to medium-high and add in the onion, garlic, salt & pepper, and soy. continue sautéing for a few minutes to really season the tofu.

next, pour in the veggie broth and rest of the vegetables. do not add the last two spices or canned tomatoes yet. cook your mixture on medium high, stirring frequently, until the liquid runs low. now add in the canned tomatoes - partially drained. to 'partially drain' my canned tomatoes i usually open the can 95% with the lid still attached, turn over once and let drain, but i don't press the lid to force any more liquid out. add the tomatoes to the mix, along with the curry and adobo seasoning. simmer for about 2 mintues until most of the tomato juice has been absorbed.

in an 8x11 casserole dish, spread 1 tablespoon of the canned tomato sauce in the bottom to prevent the cabbage rolls from sticking. then wrap each leaf like burrito, stuffed with your veggie mixture, and place in the casserole dish. once all the leaves have been assembled, pour the remaining can of tomato sauce over the top.

bake at 375°f for 25 minutes, remove and sprinkle vegan parmesean on top. i just used nutritional yeast as i didn't have any vegan parm.

what a brilliant substitute for rice, miss v! i never would have thought to use split peas – i love it! totally going to have to try out your stuffed & baked cabbage rolls – they sound amazing and they look deeeelicious! mmmmmmm!

I actually don't think I've ever had stuffed cabbage. Actually, I don't think I had cabbage, period, until I was in college. My mom is pretty anti-veggies, haha, that's been one of the fun things about becoming vegan.

I made these... super easy to make. I'd never made--or even eaten--cabbage rolls before, so this was a fun "first." I used both the brown rice and yellow split peas in addition to the tofu, because I had a really big cabbage to use up. Delish.